Back to Blog
March 29, 2024

PREPARE for LOW COMMISSIONS IN Q1 - Amazon Influencer Program Earnings DOWN!

PREPARE for LOW COMMISSIONS IN Q1 - Amazon Influencer Program Earnings DOWN!

📈 Seasonality in Affiliate Marketing: How to Prepare for Q1 Earnings Decrease

As an affiliate marketer, you may have experienced the excitement of record earnings during Q4, especially in December. However, it's important to be aware of the seasonality in most consumer-based businesses, especially online businesses. In this article, we'll discuss the pullback in earnings that typically occurs in Q1 and how to prepare for it.

📉 Q1 Earnings Pullback

Q1 is typically a pullback in earnings for affiliate marketers. There are several theories as to why this happens. One reason is that people tend to overspend during the holiday season, creating a boost in consumerism online. However, as soon as the holiday season is over, people realize they've spent too much and pull back their spending in January. Additionally, many people have New Year's resolutions to get healthy and fit, change their lives, and create a budget to get their finances in place. This trickles down to the advertisers who are buying ad space and the companies that own products. As a result, less people are buying products, and affiliate marketers make less in commissions and advertising revenue.

💰 Prepare for Q1 Earnings Decrease

The first step in preparing for Q1 earnings decrease is to know that it's going to happen. Take a part of the big puffed up earnings from November and December and put it away for January and February, knowing full well that those months are probably going to be a little bit lower in earnings. This will help you weather the storm and avoid any financial difficulties.

🚫 Amazon's Removal of Carousels

In addition to the normal pullback in earnings during Q1, Amazon has removed the lower carousel in a lot of positions. There is also chatter on forums and Facebook pages about upper carousels being missing for certain products. This could create a decrease in commissions, as videos won't show up on product pages, and fewer products will be sold through videos.

📈 Stay the Course

It's important to stay the course and not panic when earnings are down. This is normal and happens to most affiliate marketers. There may be some outliers that don't experience a decrease in earnings, but for most of us, it's part of the world we live in as Amazon influencers and affiliate marketers. Prepare your finances accordingly, knowing that you should be making a little bit less these first few months.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

- Record earnings during Q4

- Boost in consumerism online during the holiday season

- Opportunity to prepare for Q1 earnings decrease

Cons:

- Pullback in earnings during Q1

- Overspending during the holiday season

- New Year's resolutions to get healthy and fit and create a budget

🌟 Highlights

- Q1 is typically a pullback in earnings for affiliate marketers.

- People tend to overspend during the holiday season, creating a boost in consumerism online.

- Many people have New Year's resolutions to get healthy and fit, change their lives, and create a budget to get their finances in place.

- Amazon has removed the lower carousel in a lot of positions, creating a decrease in commissions.

- Prepare your finances accordingly, knowing that you should be making a little bit less these first few months.

🤔 FAQ

Q: Why do earnings decrease during Q1?

A: People tend to overspend during the holiday season, creating a boost in consumerism online. However, as soon as the holiday season is over, people realize they've spent too much and pull back their spending in January. Additionally, many people have New Year's resolutions to get healthy and fit, change their lives, and create a budget to get their finances in place. This trickles down to the advertisers who are buying ad space and the companies that own products. As a result, less people are buying products, and affiliate marketers make less in commissions and advertising revenue.

Q: How can I prepare for Q1 earnings decrease?

A: Take a part of the big puffed up earnings from November and December and put it away for January and February, knowing full well that those months are probably going to be a little bit lower in earnings. This will help you weather the storm and avoid any financial difficulties.

Q: What should I do if Amazon removes carousels?

A: This could create a decrease in commissions, as videos won't show up on product pages, and fewer products will be sold through videos. It's important to stay the course and not panic when earnings are down. This is normal and happens to most affiliate marketers. Prepare your finances accordingly, knowing that you should be making a little bit less these first few months.

Related Articles

Voice-of-customer
7 Best Amazon Competitor Analysis Tools 2026: Outsmart the Digital Shelf

Most Amazon sellers fail not because they have a bad product, but because they are "blind" to their competition. In 2026, the marketplace has evolved; simply tracking a few keywords isn't enough. You need to understand your competitor’s sales psychology, their supply chain gaps, and—most importantly

Feb 11, 2026
Read more
Voice-of-customer
How to Handle Amazon Negative Reviews

In the competitive landscape of Amazon, managing negative reviews is often the ultimate pain point for sellers. Traditionally, operations teams have been stuck in a reactive cycle: relying on manual checks that are not only labor-intensive but also prone to missing the "golden window" for damage con

Feb 10, 2026
Read more
Voice-of-customer
How to Find Winning Products on Amazon Using Keyword Analysis: A Step-by-Step Guide

In the competitive world of cross-border e-commerce, a product's market acceptance largely depends on one thing: accurately matching user needs.But how do you know which products hold potential? What do consumers actually care about right now? Is "large capacity" the winner this season, or is "porta

Feb 9, 2026
Read more
VOC AI Inc. 160 E Tasman Drive Suite 202 San Jose, CA, 95134 Copyright © 2026 VOC AI Inc.All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies
VOC AI uses cookies to ensure the website works properly, to store some information about your preferences, devices, and past actions. This data is aggregated or statistical, which means that we will not be able to identify you individually. You can find more details about the cookies we use and how to withdraw consent in our Privacy Policy.
We use Google Analytics to improve user experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you consent to the use of cookies and data collection by Google Analytics.
Are you happy to accept these cookies?
Accept all cookies
Reject all cookies